Tag Archives: stars

Bill Hicks was a comedian who died in 1994 of pancreatic cancer. You might not expect such a metaphysical quote from a comedian… only if you’re not familiar with Bill Hicks’ work. He was controversial, biting, and certainly not for those with delicate ears. At the same time, he was often spiritual, philosophical, and personal.

This project is only a part of a longer quotation of Hicks. Although he stopped using drugs in 1988, he still espoused their use, saying ““I’ve had some killer times on drugs.” He railed against the war on drugs and on the media focusing only on negative stories about drugs. Hicks instead hop[ed] for a different perspective:

[As if giving a news cast] “Today, a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration—that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imaginations of ourselves. Here’s Tom with the weather.”

On a more superficial note, I filled the stars in border with seven different variegated flosses. The one I had really been wanting to try is Anchor 1345, called “Blue Hawaii,” and it didn’t disappoint. In fact, it’s gorgeous and you can see it in the star in the upper left corner of the pattern.

I stitched some of the stars filling in a serpentine way and some in a spiral way, and it was interesting to see how differently the colors pooled. For example, all three were the same color, Anchor 1345, but the star in the upper left corner was stitched serpentine in horizontal rows, while the fourth one below it and the first one from top right were stitched in a spiral.

If you’re interested in seeing some of his work, below is a clip from The Late Show with David Letterman. At the taping in 1993, Letterman and CBS decided that his material was too controversial and his performance was not aired. However, in 2009, Bill’s mother was a guest on Letterman and they aired his set in it’s entirety. [Warning: this is not for the easily offended]

The stitched example, Highway 1, is a roughly 540 mile stretch from the tip of the Homer Spit to Tok Junction. It passes through Homer, Soldotna, Sterling, Girdwood, Anchorage (my birthplace and home for roughly 13 years), Palmer, along the beautiful Matanuska river and glacier, and through Glenallen before ending in Tok.

There are only 12 State Highways in Alaska, so I can easily customize this pattern for any of your favorite drives. Some of my favorite drives include Highway 1, also known as the Glenn Highway, along the Matanuska Glacier,

and Highway 4 from Glenallen to Valdez. Highway 4 is also called the Richardson Highway, and it includes some amazing views of the volcano Mt. Wrangelland Worthington Glacier that comes pretty close to the highway.

Yep, most of the highways in Alaska are just two lanes!

If you’re an Alaskan, a frequent visitor, or just a fan of the state, this Alaska cross stitch pattern would be a great way for you to show your appreciation for “The Last Frontier.”

Update 9/7/13: The cross stitch kit for this pattern is now available on my Etsy shop as well! I’m offering it in two colorways – white background with black floss and, like the flag, blue background with yellow floss.

These Rock and Roll patterns and kits are projects I designed for a few kids that are special to me. Let me explain: A lot of projects for new babies and kids are all in light blues and pinks and cute animals. And while there’s nothing wrong with that stuff, there’s already PLENTY of designs in that genre. I wanted to make something distinctive that would be cool for the kids and parents way longer than a year or two.

And a lot of these patterns are not just for kids! Sci-Fi aficionados, astronomy buffs, Deadheads, the Kiss Army and those channeling just Paul Stanley would get a kick out of these.

“Rock On” was the first of these rock and roll patterns. I especially love the skull and crossbones and their variegated gray checkerboard background.

Next up is “Final Frontier.” Of the four projects featured on this page, this is probably my personal favorite. I love how all the elements work together. I think that the planets, galaxy, stars, comet, spaceship, and asteroids look bright and fantastic against the black background. If you look close enough, there’s a tiny homage to a certain sci-fi show included. I also like the colors that I used to outline Ozzie’s name, and the framing certainly accentuates them as well.

Then came “Girly Girl.” I’m the first to admit that I’m not a very girly girl so I’m very happy with how the bow, sunglasses, flip flops and perfume bottle turned out.

The most recent project is “Colorful Stars.” It’s bright and cheerful, and it has a couple of sister projects: there’s another “Colorful Stars” and a similar “Dark Stars” that both feature awesome bright colors and with black backgrounds that really make the colors ROCK!

I’m extremely happy with how all these rock and roll patterns projects turned out, and I was proud to give them to all the kids and parents.